


Stay Away or Die

by jactinglim



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2003), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Episode: s03e21 Same As It Never Was, F/M, Pre-Same As It Never Was
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:02:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24423949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jactinglim/pseuds/jactinglim
Summary: Karai had always been torn between honor and loyalty. Ch'rell, back from his exile, made the choice for her.
Relationships: Casey Jones & April O'Neil (TMNT), Casey Jones/April O'Neil (TMNT), Dr. Chaplin/Karai (TMNT)
Kudos: 6
Collections: Angst and Hurt/Comfort Prompts





	1. Breaking Out of Shredder's Dungeon

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [angstandhcprompts](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/angstandhcprompts) collection. 



> **Prompt:**
> 
> Person A gets thrown in jail for helping someone they shouldn't have. That someone decides to break him out.

_ Trust me, _ she says. _We’re escaping the Shredder,_ she says.

Hun thought to himself wearily as he sat in his mechanical wheelchair. For someone who claimed to help him betray his master, she's making a horrible job at it, if him going from (1) Shredder's most loyal soldier, to (2) death row prisoner, is any indication.

"Why did we even _listen_ to Karai?” Dr. Baxter Stockman’s voice shrilled into his already darkening thoughts. 

For someone who lost his mouth, Dr. Stockman’s making too much noise. The hulking man wished those Utrom scientist alien freaks scrapped Baxter’s communication speakers when they surgically attached the disembodied brain onto his left shoulder. All part of the punishment. Getting him crippled for the rest of his life was not enough torture. The sadistic talking brains thought it _amusing_ to fuse the two constantly bickering traitors together. He heard one of them joking about it being their very own, permanent version of a ‘get-along shirt’.

Baxter whined on, “If I remember correctly, you pathetic dog, you _hate_ the harridan!”

# # #

Hun _did_ hate Karai, from the moment he first laid eyes on her.

He had a good thing going, fighting his way up the ranks with brute strength and cunning to become leader of the Purple Dragons. Gaining recognition from the Shredder as his ally was his crown achievement. Oroku Saki held ideals and goals he completely agreed with. When Hun first entered the Japanese crime lord’s office, he noticed a huge portrait hanging on the right wall, featuring a young woman with short hair and bangs wearing flowing robes, her face demurely downcast.

“Her name is Karai. I raised and trained her myself. She now leads the Foot Clan in Japan on my behalf,” the Shredder answered his unvoiced question. 

# # #

Hun remembered seeing the Shredder’s helmet roll to a stop at his feet. He picked up the helmet and found a voice changing device inside, “Master??”

The woman, wearing his master’s armor, evenly met his questioning gaze as her aides helped her back up. She matched the one framed in Oroku Saki’s office.

“ _Karai!_ ” his voice seethed in realization. His master’s chosen second in command. He could think of no other reason for it other than her happening to be his adopted daughter. It must be nice to be the warrior princess of the Foot Clan. She must be spoiled getting everything he ever wanted handed to her on a silver platter… simply by uttering the word ‘Father’.

He had since challenged her multiple times for the coveted position. And just as many times she defeated him. For every backhanded trick, cheat, and deception; the silent little bitch outmaneuvered him. He would lunge at her with all of his weight and force, only to have her long limbs move in a gracefully concerted rhythm, swinging him through the air into a precise throw, down onto the mats. 

In their last duel she jabbed at him and his dodge threw off his own balance. It was her plan all along. Karai ran to leap up and surprised him as her legs locked around his head. She quickly bent her torso back down, hanging upside down to shift weight to throw him down once more. She reached down to land on her hands, tucking her legs off his shoulders back into herself before launching off to flip back onto her feet.

It did not help that the longer he got to know her, his judgement of the kunoichi only got worse. She questioned Oroku Saki whenever his decisions went against her sense of so-called honor. Isn’t honor about devoting service to their master?? In his eyes she was nothing more than a weak-willed fool whose loyalty hung in a balance, especially whenever it involved the turtles. She seemed to be a heartbeat away from betraying the Foot Clan to join those mutated freaks.

# # #

His train of thought was interrupted by their cell neighbor’s cheery voice.

"Don't worry, Dr. Stockman! I'm sure even _this_ is a part of her plan," Dr. Chaplin's blind optimism did nothing but further enrage the two men in the adjacent cell beside his.

A deafening explosion drowned out their conversation. All turned to the destroyed wall to watch Karai walk calmly through the swirling smoke and debris, black hair softly swaying as she was carefully stepping over mangled limbs and bodies of guards, robots and otherwise. Four mutants: one rat and three turtles, rushed in past her, leading their rebel allies in to neutralize any remaining threats. She regarded the three prisoners sentenced to be executed by the Shredder. One way to weaken Ch'rell is to take away the brains and brawn of the operation. There was only the evil Utrom's cruelty to blame. Convincing the men was easy enough once she presented the chance for payback and freedom.

"Do _exactly_ as I say. We need to be quick," her cool voice rang clear over the noise. She opened the gate of Hun's cell and stabbed him with his first dose of painkillers since the excruciating lucid operation that fused him with Baxter. She then made her way to open the cell of the other scientist, who looked with pure adoration.

Dr. Chaplin squealed, grip tightening on the metal bars of his cell, "SEE?"


	2. Decades Ago

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Glimpses of the years before the events of Chapter 1.

“Why did you take me in?” an eleven-year old Karai, usually quiet, asked her adoptive father then.

They climbed into a sleek black luxury car, one of many in Oroku’s fleet.

He took his time, watching her in silence as she settled into her seat, before starting, “I heard you, before I first saw you. Your screams carried strong and clear over the docks. You must be only four or five back then; so small… for someone so full of anger. Covered in blood. Theirs as much as yours.”

She barely had any memories left of that time. Only vague flashes remained…

  
  
Rough hands, “…fetch a nice price…”

Hazy voices, “…test the merchandise…”

Her own screams, “That hurts! Let me go!”

Men’s laughter, “…stop fighting, little cunt…”

Sharp pain. Cuts and bruises. Blood between her legs.

She snapped.

All was a blur. She grabbed the blade pressed against her throat, its edge biting into her fingers. Stab, stab, stabbing blindly at her surroundings, then stillness and corpses.

And one towering shadow.

She lunged. She felt her thin, bony wrist caught.

He lifted her up to meet her eyes, where blind rage shifted into terror. He spoke for the first time, “Fierce little one. I come to punish traitors, only to find you did just that for me.”

He took her in since. Karai got older. Sought old records. Found reports. On how she killed the Shredder’s associates who formed a pedophile ring behind the master’s back, where she was sold. Karai was brought back to the present at the sound of Father’s voice.

“It is my destiny to find you. As it is your duty to serve me. We are all servants of fate.”

The car has reached their destination. They stepped out, straightening their ninja gear.

“You have seen how broken this world is. You understand why mercy has no place in it,” the tall ninja leaped up his way to the rooftops. He glanced back to see her keeping up, “Now let us proceed with your training.”

Karai touched her earpiece and her visor glowed, quick legs not missing a beat as she processed the images and data running overlaid in her vision.

“You have until we reach the City Hall to brief yourself of your next target.” He smiled, not slowing down, “You did well completing your last mission without hesitation,” he knew she has no further need of his guiding presence after this one, “You are my best apprentice yet.”

# # #

_The Shredder brought Karai along with her newest trainees to track down a refugee camp suspected to be hiding the turtles. It was the dead of night when they found the refugees. They were sleeping inside an abandoned building, but no sign of the turtles._

_"Wipe them out."_

_Karai believed in fighting warriors in open battle; not killing civilians in their slumber, "Master Shredder, the turtles are not here..."_

_He interrupted her with a strike across her head, the sheer force slammed her to a wall across the alley, "That's for speaking out against me in front of my army."_

_By the time she got up, wiping the blood dripping over her eye, he was gripping a young recruit by the hair, a bladed spike pressed against his throat._

_"Whose lives do you value more? Those rebel-sympathizers or those of our clan?"_

_She followed._

# # #

Back at the base the trainees dispersed. Once alone in the dojo, the Shredder opened his helmet, revealing Ch’rell in his new location within the redesigned armor. He seized Karai by the throat, holding her up to his eye level as he snarled, “You have gone _soft_ , Karai. Your weakness disappoints me as much as it disgusts me.”

“I… I’m sorry… father,” Karai croaked, forcing the words out as she scrabbled at his strong fingers tightened against her throat.

“You should know _better_. Do away with your ridiculous notion of ‘honor’ once and for all!” he gritted through bared teeth as she broke free. He caught her by the hair, noting her efforts to stay silent as she twisted her body to minimize the impact when his knee hit her jaw. He heard her shallow breaths, heavily in pain. He continued attacking while she did her best to keep up. Her punishment is far from over, “ _Never_ question me again.”

# # #

“I hate being the leader. I hate making decisions.”  
  
“Things went wrong _this once_. One wrong decision out of hundreds, _thousands_ you’ve done right.”  
  
“One mistake too many. I never wanted to lead. I do not know how.”

“You’re too hard on yourself. You were chosen by Mr. Saki to be his apprentice.”

“He only chose me because he saw me fight. I’m a warrior. Not a leader. I can’t do this.”

“You can do this.”

“I do not _want_ to do this! I am a ninja of the bushido no more. Just a weapon at his disposal,” She hated herself, her vulnerability. She should hide her bruises and these thoughts and maintain a calm exterior.

Chaplin tended to her injuries. He kept reassuring her it’s ok, that she needed the outlet, “When Shredder’s gone you will lead the Foot Clan the way you want to. With honor. To do what’s right.”

Karai shook her head, “The Clan has done so much wrong. It’s beyond salvation,” she ruefully thought to herself, _‘I am beyond salvation’_.


	3. Decades Later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jumping forward to a time when everything's the same as it never was.

Chaplin will never forget the first time he met Mistress Karai in person. Before that he has collected all footages he could find to watch her in action. Purely for research purposes, of course.

"Do I detect... a resemblance?" Karai looked at him then as he presented the Amazonian Blade Bots, his labor of love. 

"You don't mind, do you? It's just that, well, I mean you're just so _perfect!_ " Dr. Chaplin gushed as he faced her, eager to see her reaction.

She hid her embarrassment with a look of disgust as she turned away from the young scientist. She heard him make a sound of disappointment as he slumped. To her, he was nothing more than a naive puppy thinking he's in his dream job. In actuality he jumped into all this out of blind fanaticism for Baxter. And now for her as well, she realized.

_# # #_

"Let's get away from all this."

"Impossible."

"I know you hate being part of the Foot Clan as much as I do," Chaplin threw his hands up in exasperation. Over the years what he thought was his dream job turned out to be a nightmare. The Shredder was insatiable for conquest and ruin. "The massacres, experiments, and torture are getting to you. God knows how long you've been hiding it, but..."

"We _serve_ the Shredder!" Karai bristled at the accusation. "With loyalty, and without question!" 

"...No matter how it grates against your sense of honor?" he said as he sat up.

 _“_ _You sound like Leonardo_ ,” she dully said in annoyance as she stepped away. They were in her dojo. He just barely succeeded calming her down after walking in on her decimating dummies and equipment like a berserker in catharsis. He heard from the soldiers who came back with her from their most recent mission that night about the latest carnage the Shredder has forced her commit.

Her face faltered, but only for a moment. She composed herself into her usual cold countenance. "I will not have your talk of betraying Father! Get out of my sight."

# # #

He never gave up on her. The man seemed to sense whenever she felt conflicted and found ways to be there for her every chance he gets.

The pair came to be known as the lovesick puppy following his owner around, said owner giving him no more than a scowl, as far as everyone else knew.

And each time they were alone together he repeated himself: "Let's escape."

"To _where?_ You speak as if there is anywhere we can be free of the Shredder,"

He took note of the progress achieved. From dismissing it as an impossibility, to questioning it. Questions he easily answered with cautious measures and countermeasures, options never before considered. 

That night she did not send him away, and they talked in low voices until sunrise. Since then their private conversations are explorations of ideas. They bounced off each other feasibility and logistics. Each time they met they updated each other of the latest facts about the Foot Clan military against rebel activities, filling knowledge gaps. What factors will work in their favor, recognizing the important chess pieces both for and against the Shredder. For Karai it's nothing more than idle chatter and wishful thinking, but for him they were slowly building the foundation, as they were slowly growing closer.

"Let's escape." 

"There you go again with your foolishness," she stalked towards her bed to glower at the man lying in her sheets. Over the years his ways of calming her had... evolved.

Alarms sounded along with an explosion, and they immediately sprang to action. She got dressed and equipped her weapons as he ran to his lab to mobilize their bots.

They ran outside to the grounds of their base to find their borders breached by rebels mounting a full-scale surprise attack, led by three turtles she knew too well, and their human allies April O'Neill and Casey Jones.

# # #

"Were you successful?" Chaplin asked as she entered her quarters.

"The remains of the man they called Casey Jones has been delivered to the rebel April's group," she answered quietly. She stood still by the window looking out at the Manhattan skyline. What used to be a glittering urban jewel was replaced by a smoking, bloodstained battleground of broken concrete and glass.

"They're not just any rebels, Karai. They're with the turtles."

She looked down at the polished wood of her windowsill. Karai could still hear their grief and rage when she watched them find the body outside their camp. The kunoichi could only hope that it's enough to serve as a warning that they located their camp. To move out and stay away. To never attempt another attack to the Shredder's stronghold.

He and Karai did all the subterfuge they could manage to minimize the damage to the rebel side as much as they can get away with. They realized then that the rebels however, were completely out of their control. They were not able to predict, let alone stop them from launching the major attack of the Foot base.

She felt the rift between her and the turtles tear further apart, possibly beyond repair. It's time to take action, "I have a plan."

"We will need Baxter and Hun," he added, anticipating her protests.


	4. Breakout Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Showing the start of the SAINW episode before a flashback to the continuation of Chapter 1.
> 
> I heavily edited all chapters so you might want to start over. There is actually another scene I wanted to include but I'm not sure where to insert it :/

Karai stood still beside the Shredder, their servants adjusting their microphones in preparation for the recording and the broadcast. It was to be played regularly since, a constant reminder to keep everyone in line. She was handed a sheet of paper: her script, approved by the Shredder himself. She easily memorized the short passages and disposed the sheet before the equipment around them hummed to life, monitors and speakers crackled and blinked to emblazon their images on screens spread throughout the world. The set-up was complete. They began.

"Attention, servants of the Shredder, your Lord and Master will now address you," her face stilled into a perfect porcelain mask as she recited her lines in a clear and level voice, devoid of all emotion.

The one she called Father started without missing a beat, "For those of you who are still living under the illusion that you will have freedom, know this: My armies have exterminated the last pockets of resistance and I now control the entire planet. The traitorous Utrom scientists I have captured are completing a colossal transmat device. With it, I will send forth my armies and enslave the stars, one world after another. There is no hope. There is only the Shredder."

"Remember, the Shredder is always watching," she finished.

They cut the broadcast, and their staff moved with efficiency as they removed the mics and bustled to prepare the recording for final editing while clearing the way so that the two highest officials of the Foot clan would soon be free to leave. The towering leader his second in command, who bowed deeply before retiring to her quarters.

She went straight to her master bedroom, and into the bath, where she leaned heavily on the counter with hands on either side of the sink. She lifted her face to gaze at the mirror.

 _'I'm getting too old for this'_ , she thought, looking back at her own eyes jaded, hair faded to silver from the torture she went through for helping Hun and Baxter escape. Her muscles remained strong, however, to best serve as her master wanted. Loyalty was all she had left after her mind and spirit were utterly broken.

She simply felt numb.

She removed her gear and washed up, mentally processing the reports she discussed with her adoptive father that day. The good news was that the transmat was nearing completion. The bad news was that the fourth turtle, missing for three decades, has reappeared. She thought back on the last time she saw the turtles...

# # #

They were running out of the dungeons, Foot Police hot on their heels. Cutting a swath through Utrominators, Foot soldiers, and Legions that stood in their way. Karai brought up the rear to help all the prisoners escape with the turtles leading ahead.

"Things are going to SHELL!" Raphael shouted over the comms as he ran, hand pressed over his left eye. Him and his brothers were already covered in deep cuts and injuries all over their scarred bodies as they kept fighting through Foot enemies.

"NO! Aaaaaah!" she knew that voice. Her blood ran cold. She leaped forward, blades flying, following the screams to see her lover stabbed through by his own creations. The Legion of mechanical monstrosities in turn were cut down by Leonardo.

_Too late,_ _Leo thought in dismay_ _._

"CHAPLIN!" she screamed as she caught him.

"Thanks for what we had… together," he gasped, "I love you, Karai," he shuddered with his last breath.

She sat still on the ground, feeling her heart crumple in agony. She raised her head and shot an accusatory glare, "I TRUSTED you to protect him! You _know_ he cannot fight..."

Leo started running back towards them, "I... I'm sor-"

Sword sang as steel sliced through air. The turtle cried out in pain, leaping back. His blue mask dropped from the diagonal cut, from above one eye to below the other. He squinted through blood seeping into his eyes, ' _Too bright... why is it getting SO bright?_ ' 

He felt furry hands grip his arms, roughly pushing him towards Mikey's screams. Splinter's voice broke through the white haze, "RUN! Take your brothers with you, Michelangelo is—!"

“NO! We’re NOT leaving you,” Raphael reached for Splinter with his left hand, revealing his ruined left eye.

“Leonardo, _please,_ ” the rat mutant’s voice was even, but his eyes looked desperate, “We cannot _all_ die here… not now.”

With a cry of frustration Leo dragged his raging brother out with him, “Help me with Mikey!” he hissed at Raphael.

Raphael’s protests stopped when Michelangelo fell onto him. Michelangelo was fighting to stay conscious, staring at his arm stump in shock.

The two propped the youngest turtle up as they hurriedly wove through dodging laser fires, swinging blades, and bullets towards the exit.

"The next time I see you will be the time I _kill_ you!" she yelled to the retreating turtles, her lover dead in her arms.


	5. A Nightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Donnie dreams of darkness and death long before the turtles are aware of the time scepter's dangerous potential.

Donatello found himself climbing a flight of stairs, wet planks of wood rotting and moldy in places, illuminated by a lone dim light hanging from the ceiling. The landing opened to the side, a space beyond the sparse stair light and completely pitch-black. The air was stale and heavily suffocating throughout.

He wandered aimlessly in the dark, until he saw a faint glow in the distance. He felt and heard old wooden floorboards creak as he numbly walked across the old dusty floor towards it to find out what it was.

An outline of a door.

He cannot remember how he even ended up in that dark place. He hated this. Hated having to go without enough data. Too many variables. Too many unknowns. He reached for the door knob, turned, and opened the door.

Inside was a bare room, lined in pale, smooth tiles. He found a strange, grotesque creature, standing with its back turned to him. The jumbled mess of black metal and chrome turned as the door creaked open, and their eyes met. 

It was Ch'rell, in its robotic Shredder armor. The turtle boy genius was surprised to find the Utrom's face not wearing his usual evil glare. It looked _scared_ … and desperate, mouth gaping open and closed like a fish out of water, words barely audible, "He is here..."

_Who?_ Donnie wondered, speechless.

"The Shredder... the _true_ Shredder..."

Green eye ridges furrowed in confusion. Ch'rell has always referred to itself as _the_ true Shredder. What's with the third person treatment all of a sudden?

"Where I wanted domination, he wanted destruction..." the alien continued to babble, rising in green smoke as the familiar dark steel armor formed around it, growing bigger, spikes growing long and sharp. Its eyes morphed from scared pale blue to glowing red slits as its voice faltered, "He'll destroy us. _All_ of us. Oh no, NO! _He's taking over me..._ "

The Shredder grew bigger and darker, and slowly moved to close the distance between turtle and monstrosity.

Donnie stepped back in horror as he watched Ch'rell slowly melt in blackened decay oozing out of its eyes and mouth, opening wider and wider. A sound between a hiss and a moan grew louder and louder. Teeth and claws grew longer and sharper. The black ooze covered its entire form before most of it sunk back through wires and gears, leaving clumps in between like old grease.

Pained, panicked cries morphed into one solid, thundering roar as the demonic form reached out to him with sharp steel blades...

"NO!"

Out of nowhere, Leonardo leaped forward, katanas drawn and slicing through air. Raphael bellowed, sais at the ready. Michelangelo ran with nunchucks spinning, pushing Donatello back.

He staggered backwards, body sluggish and heavy, like swimming in molasses. He tried to move, wanting to rush to his brothers' side, but he could not. He could only watch as the hulking armored titan swept wide and throw the three turtles back.

They slammed against the wall with a loud smash, smooth tiled walls broken into webs cracked over and swiftly crawling over the surface. Swing after swing he heard the mutants cry out in pain. And each time his brothers got up and attacked again, bloodier than before.

Leo staggered back up to meet Shredder’s blades with his own, his arm and the rest of him covered in bruises and cuts. Raph was pressing a hand against his bleeding left eye. He watched their nemesis bring his huge sword down on Mikey's left arm and heard the youngest turtle scream before his vision filled with smoke. The horrific scene of haze and screams pulled farther and farther away from him.

Then all he saw was the door slamming shut.

He reached for the knob. It's gone. He pushed but the door never gave. He banged his fists, begging to be let in, to help his brothers. Clawed at the edges with his blunt nails without gaining purchase. He braced his shoulders and threw himself against the frame. Nothing. He heard his brothers’ voices, muffled through the barrier.

_“Donnie? DON!”_

_“Where are you?”_

_“Where did he go??”_

He called out their names over and over as his vision grew dark.

His own shouts woke him from his nightmare. His eyes snapped open to find himself in his own bed. Wide eyes scanned his surroundings over and over, forcibly reminding himself that he’s back home, in his own room. His heart was pounding in his ears. He waited it out, taking deep breaths as he gripped his aching head until the peaceful quiet faded in. It took him a few minutes. He was thankful none of his brothers came to check on him. He struggled to normalize his breathing.

It was just a dream. Only a dream. He will forget about it.

He did not.


	6. Leading the Foot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karai thinks back to a long forgotten past, when there was a certain mutant turtle who saw her not as an enemy, but as someone who valued honor as much as he did.

"I hate leading. I hate how... lonely it is."

Leo turned to the sixteen-year old kunoichi sitting on the rooftop ledge beside him. She had been patiently listening to him vent about his brothers and their all-too-often insubordinate and rebellious antics. He wasn't sure if her recent declaration is her way of empathising, but he'll take what he can get. He's already used to her peculiarities anyway. "Yeah. I miss being... their brother," he responded, understanding.

"Father..." Karai paused, "...took me in. Trained me to become someone he could trust to lead the clan someday. Over the years I moved up the ranks, training recruits, then leading them when they become warriors." She lifted one hand off the ledge, watched it clench and unclench, "I knew them. From the moment they were brought to me, asking to let them be our students..." she paused, and lowered her gaze, "...To the moment they gave their lives for the clan."

He slowly raised his hand up, hovering near her shoulder. She glanced at it, then brought her eyes back down, jet black hair falling like a short curtain. He noted that she didn't move away, before gently pushing a black silken lock of fine hair away from the sad face it was covering.

"Each time I knew it was my fault. My failure. I should have trained them more. I should have known better," her eyes looked dead, distant. Her cheeks remained dry, years of training to control her emotions have made the heaviness in her chest far beyond tears.

He tucked the soft dark strands behind a delicate ear, then settled his hand on her shoulder.

She raised her chin slightly, looking out at the sparkling cityscape sprawled below them. "Father would approach me, discussing the future if the clan. What kinds of people are needed for each mission and operation. And I would compose teams, handpicking each member for the their various strengths. At first, when I was much younger, a trainer for the most basic of beginners, I was foolish enough to think them as friends. But as soon as the missions started, I was no longer their friend. I was simply their master. Looking back, perhaps they never saw me as their friend after all, that it had been one-sided all along."

He squeezed her shoulder, silently encouraging.

"Father set me straight quick enough," her pale face turned away from him then, "He taught me that they were never meant to be treated as 'friends', but as weapons."

"Much like how the Shredder treats you," he said, voice low.

"As how we must be."

"No," he slid his hand down her arm, watching her face him. He caught her emerald gaze, "I am a leader to my clan because it is my duty, but I am a brother to them when they need me. As they are there for me," his firm grip ended at her wrist, "Always," before letting go and leaning his palm beside hers on the ledge.

"That is not how a ninja clan is," her brow furrowed, "It is not the way of the Foot."

"Well, it is the way of the Hamato," he moved his face closer with a shy smile, "And... our door is open."

She almost smiled, but caught herself and instead gave a derisive snort, "Ah yes, your strange Hamato recruitment technique: lure with a smile from one turtle to be soundly beaten up by another."

He knew instantly which other turtle she was referring to as he laughed, "What? It's... standard tryouts procedure!" smiling wider as he casually threw a hand out dismissively.

She rolled her green eyes, and he was glad to see her relax a bit.

"Besides, I'm confident you'll pass," he leaned back, not breaking eye contact.

She sighed, deep and heavy, looking at the citylights again, "Give it up, foolish turtle." Shaking her head, she stood up in a smooth motion and moved to the center of the roof deck, drawing her blade, "If you're done with your pity party, we could go back to our usual training."

"MY pity party?? I mean sure, I started off ranting about my dumb brothers, but _you're_ the one who suddenly got all philo-"

Steel on steel interrupted his teasing as her attack was deflected, "Less talking, more fighting," she grinned.

After a few hours they had to part ways, before either clan noted their absence. They ended their spar both sweaty and panting, yet composed themselves to a respectful bow to each other. They found themselves looking at each other longer than they think they should, and paused in hesitation, unsure if the other had something important to say.

“Th-… Thank you, Leonardo,” the Foot general finally said, averting her eyes then hating herself for it.

“You know I enjoy our spars as much as you do. It is rare for me to find someone I could fight at my level,” he answered before forcing himself to turn away from her, moving to get home, “Farewell, Karai.”

“Goodbye,” she watched him disappear into the shadows, before running to leap across rooftops to get back to her quarters. There she would do her usual routine of cooling down, washing up, then checking her room and surroundings, before going to sleep, thinking of ‘what-ifs’ before waving them off as ‘nevers’.

**Author's Note:**

> This is a work in progress so I am constantly editing this. I'd love to read your comments! I'll also add art when I have time and post it here from my DeviantArt.


End file.
